Should a 100-Year Misspelling Continue Because It Is “Historical” ?
Margareth Brennan emigrated from Ireland to the United States about 1861, at the age of 31. Nothing else is known about her early life in Ireland nor her first 10 years in the United States. On 7 May 1872 in Red Wing, MN, she married a Civil War veteran named James Guilroy. He had served…
Vandalism of Neglect – Replaced and Not Replaced
In Vandalism of Neglect, I highlighted 13 headstones that had “glaring” errors. Of those 13 headstones, only four (4) headstones were corrected by ordering a new stone. For 90 years, Frank Allen‘s first name was inscribed “Frark” on his headstone. When the WIDVA ordered the replacement stone to correct his name, his date of birth…
“Vandalism of Neglect” Two Years Later
I first published Vandalism of Neglect (Headstone Inscription Errors at the Central Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery at King) two years ago. I distributed only one copy; it was sent to then-Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (WIDVA), Daniel Zimmerman. In the year following the publication, I heard absolutely nothing from the WIDVA. After…
Confederate Cavalryman Mis-Identified as Union Casualty for 150 Years
Cullen Britton Private Company C 12th Kentucky Cavalry Confederate States Army CIVIL WAR On a sunny November afternoon that was described as an “Indian summer day”, over 20,000 Confederate troops lined up against a force of 25,000 Union soldiers, who were outside of Franklin, Tennessee. The battlefield was wide, open ground; but the Union forces…
“Interloper” Buried Between Somebody’s Great-Grandparents
When Rebecca (Burdick) Carley died at the G.A.R. Veterans Home in 1914, she was buried next to her husband of 55 years, Milo Carley. Milo and Rebecca were married about 1857, probably in Winnebago County, WI. Milo had recently arrived in Wisconsin from Oswego County, NY; while Rebecca was born in Wisconsin. Her parents were…
Eternally Apart – CWVMC Spouses Buried Separately
A total of nineteen (19) Civil War veterans are buried separately from their spouse at the Central Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery (CWVMC). This total does not include the twelve (12) couples who were buried next to each other – only later to have an “interloping” burial made between them (the subject of the next post).…
Typographical Error Creates a New Person – Complete with Burial and Headstone
My extensive research has identified no less than four (4) burials at the Central Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery (CWVMC) in which each “decendent” was created whole-cloth from a typographical and/or transcription error. To be clear: these four individuals never existed; and, yet, the CWVMC maintains a complete burial record for each of them. And each…
Neglected Valor
Many people may be familiar with the term “Stolen Valor” and the book by the same name by B.G. Burkett. It labels the act of claiming military awards, badges, or service that the person did not earn. There has been a rash of these incidents over the past 3-4 decades. I have identified an entirely…
Peter Steinebach Has Two VA Headstones – Each in a Different Cemetery
Peter Steinebach was born in May 1840 in Germany and arrived in New York City on 11 May 1846 aboard the SS Emma. He was 6 years old and traveling with his parents and three siblings. In 1850, they were living in Polk, WI; but by 1860 Peter was living with his older brother and his…
Mistaken Identity: Darius Marsh, War of 1812 and Civil War Veteran
I was researching Civil War widow buried at King, when I realized her father, Darius Marsh, had been a veteran of both the War of 1812 and the Civil War. War of 1812: He enlisted into the regular Army on 1 Apr 1814 in Sherburne, NY, for a period of 5 years. He told his…